


forget you

by storiesfortravellers



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Amnesia, Angry Sex, Domesticity, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Mild Kink, Resolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, rogues - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-09-12
Packaged: 2018-04-20 11:07:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4785074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesfortravellers/pseuds/storiesfortravellers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry has amnesia, and Len convinces him that he's one of the Rogues. Barry doesn't enjoy the crime much, but he's definitely feeling something for Len.</p>
            </blockquote>





	forget you

“What happened?” He sat up slowly, cringing in the light.

“That’s what happens when you run right into an explosion, kid,” a voice said.

He looked up, saw a man standing over him. Good looking. Frowning. 

“Who are you?”

The other man paused. “You don’t know?”

“I don’t remember,” answered, and struggled to think. Then he looked down at himself and said, “And why the hell am I dressed like this?”

“Do you know who you are?” the other man asked.

He shook his head. 

The other man nodded, smile spreading slowly across his face. “Your name’s Barry. I’m Len. You’re my right hand man.”

He held out a hand to help Barry up.

\--

“Okay, Barry. Enough.”

Barry sped around him, ran downtown, bought a cake, and handed it to Len in two seconds. 

“I. Have. Superspeed. This is so awesome!” Barry said, grabbing Len by the shoulders.

“Yes, your powers have been a valuable asset to our team.” He set the cake on the counter so he could lean down and snuff out the tiny flame at the hem of Barry’s jeans.

“Whoa. Thanks. Look, Len, I know it’s not new to you, but I don’t remember, okay? It’s kind of a big deal to find out you can do… _this._ ”

“I know, it’s exciting,” Len said, “But be careful. We have enemies. If they know about your… condition, they’ll try to take advantage. Catch you, try to trick you into working for them. Who knows what lies they might tell? They might try to turn you against me, even.”

“Sure,” Barry said, looking down at the burnt part of his jeans, “So do you think that’s why I had that red suit? So it wouldn’t catch fire.”

“…Someone slipped a tracker into that suit. We’ll give it back when we figure out how to remove it. Mick’s working on it.”

“Cool,” Barry said. “Mick seems… cool. I mean he’s very intense. But cool.”

“He’ll come around, Barry.”

“Yeah, about that… how come Lisa and Mick … like, did they not like me? Was I not nice to them or something, before I lost my memory?”

Len’s face faltered just a little. “It wasn’t your fault, Barry, I promise.” He put a hand on Barry’s shoulder. “You’re the newest addition to our team. The three of us have worked together for years, me and my sister obviously for our whole lives. They just struggle with letting new people in.”

“Then why’d they let me on the team?”

Len paused. “Because I wanted you with us. I could tell you had potential, kid.”

Barry’s eyes softened, and he grinned at Len, so much like a grateful puppy it made Len a little nauseous. “Thanks, Len.”

“Yeah. Sure, kid. Let’s get back to planning. So remember, you can’t be seen in public for more than a few seconds, or the law will come for you. They know your face. ”

“Yeah, when am I not careful?”

“If you had your memory, you’d know the answer to that,” Len grumbled. 

\--

They are hiding in a supply closet down the hall from some top-secret prototypes, trying to be as quiet as they can as guards walk by. They are crowded together, Len’s larger body flush against Barry’s as they lean against the wall. Barry almost sneezes from the dust, but Len’s hand covers his mouth, long fingers gripping Barry’s face, and he quiets. He tries to not to react to the proximity, to the friction, to Len in his space, to the hints of dominance that Len never quite admits to enjoying and so Barry can’t admit it either.

The guards pass, and they sneak in to look at the prototypes. Len wants to decide which ones are worth taking, though Barry of course points out that he could just make several trips and take them all.

“It’s not just about the money, kid. It’s about style. It’s about knowing we own this city, and everyone else knowing it too.”

“And that’s why I joined your team?” Barry asks as Len continues poring over the labels. He tries to sound nonchalant, but doesn’t hide his skepticism well.

Len looks up. “You don’t like being on the team?” He gives Barry a cold smile.

“Of course I do. I love working with you. You guys. I just… I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”

Len stares, frowns. Then nods, seems to measure his words carefully. “Honestly, Barry, I don’t think you were ever that into stealing. And you never cared about how much power you had over the city. I think maybe you just love using those powers. And you like that with your skills, nobody has to get hurt when we do a job. You like protecting the team, Barry.”

“Oh,” Barry says. He seems to ponder this.

“Okay, let’s take these three,” Len says, pointing at three glass containers. “That too much? You got this?”

“Oh yeah. I got this.”

\--

It was past midnight. Mick was asleep, Lisa was out dancing, and Len and Barry were sitting on the couch watching television. 

“Talk shows are boring. We should read or something valuable,” Len said.

“Reading a novel takes me 30 seconds. I need something that makes me take it slow,” Barry said with a yawn. 

Len gave him a fond smile. “Is that why all my Dostoevsky looks like it was in a windstorm?”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s okay, kid. I know it’s tough. Us asking you to stay in all the time.”

“I know, I know. It’s for my own protection.” He leaned his shoulder a little more toward Len.

Len nodded, then flipped channels until he eventually landed at the one they started with.

“Hey, Len?” 

“Yeah?”

“We were friends, right? Before the explosion. We weren’t just colleagues, we were friends too?”

“Yeah, of course, kid.” Len continued to stare at the television.

“Were we… more than friends?” Barry looked nervous, like he’d fly out of there if Len weren’t careful.

“No. We weren’t ever that,” Len said gently. “But we were really, really good friends.”

“Oh. Okay. Just… just checking.”

“Sure, kid. No problem.”

\--

“Why are moping, kid?” 

“I’m fine.”

“Look, I know that wasn’t your usual style. But you’re the one who wanted to come with us on a hold-up job.”

“I wanted to make sure you guys were safe!”

“And we were.”

Barry looked down. “Those people were scared.”

“Of course they were scared. We were pointing weapons at them.”

Barry looked up, defiant.

Len continued, “If we just speed in and out of places and no one knows who we are, we don’t have any real power, do we?”

“Yeah, I know, it’s not just about the money.”

“What’s up, kid?”

“I just… for a while now. I’m not totally sure I like… stealing from people.”

Len frowned.

Barry rolled his eyes. “Let me guess. You think this is like brain injury from the explosion or something. Well, I’m sorry I’m not the same Barry, the one you liked.”

Len crinkled his eyebrows. “I like you as much as I ever did, kid. I promise.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And you know what? You don’t have to steal if you don’t want to. It’s up to you.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. You’ll stay at home and we’ll only call you in if we need help getting away from the cops, okay? Or if there’s something we need that we really can’t get on our own. But you still have to stay out of sight, so nobody tries to capture you.”

Barry’s eyes went big. “You would protect me even if I’m not helping you any more?” he said.

“…Sure, kid.”

Barry grinned and leaned in and gave Len a long hug. After a minute, Len patted him on the back and returned it. 

\--

“You okay, kid?” 

Barry looks up, sees a dark outline where Len’s voice is. 

It’s the middle of the night.

Barry must have been screaming.

“Yeah. Sorry. I’m fine.”

Len walks into his room, sits on the side of his bed, warmth hovering near Barry. 

He waits, silent.

Finally Barry says, “I think I remembered something. In a dream.”

Len tenses. “What?”

“There was a woman. I think … I think she was my mother.”

"Oh. Okay."

"I watched her die. And I couldn’t save her for some reason. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. I don’t remember why, but I know I just couldn’t.”

Len’s face softens. He puts a hand on Barry’s shoulder, rubs. “Sorry, kid.”

Barry puts his hand over his face. “I wish I could remember more.”

“Maybe it’s for the best.”

“Maybe.”

Barry sits up then, next to Len. “I’m okay now. Really. Thanks for checking on me.”

“Any time, kid.” His face is, as always, unreadable.

Barry gives him a hug, soft, easily returned, and when they part, Barry pauses, his face next to Len’s, their lips just an inch apart.

Len pulls away. “See you in the morning, Barry. Take care of yourself.”

\--

A late night watching movies, and Barry falls asleep on the couch, leaning on Len’s shoulder. He wakes and gives Len a goofy smile, then rushes up to kiss him.

For a second, Len kisses back, hard, tongue pressing past Barry’s lips, claiming his mouth. Then Len stops, pulls back, turns away.

“You really don’t want this?” Barry says, and he knows he sounds confused, he probably sounds pathetic, and it only makes him more annoyed.

“Let’s just keep it friendly, kid.”

“Fine.”

\--

Distance for a while. Then closeness. Then a kiss, then Len pushing him away.

After the fourth time, Barry calls Len an idiot.

“Just tell me the truth! We weren’t just buddies, were we? I don’t believe that! I can tell there’s something you’re keeping from me, something about what we were before the explosion. I know it.”

Len furrowed his brow. “We – it’s complicated.”

“So tell me. Explain it.” Barry was breathing hard, lips still swollen from Len’s mouth on him. “Were you lying?”

Len set his jaw.

Barry repeated, “Were you lying? When you said we were never more than friends?”

Len sighed, sat down. “We had… tension.”

“Sexual tension.”

“Sure.”

“And?”

“A flirtation, I guess. But no sex. No… relationship.”

“Why?” 

“Just didn’t happen, okay kid?”

Barry paused. “So are you not… into me? I mean, you could just tell me.”

“It’s a little more complicated than that, okay?”

“Because I think maybe you are into me. You kiss me like you’re into me. So what’s the problem?” Barry said, stubbornness setting his jaw.

Len pursed his mouth. Finally, he said, “You want the truth?”

“Yes!”

“You wouldn’t want this. Us. If you had your memories.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I do know that, Barry. You wouldn’t want this. And if we do anything now, me and you, then someday, when you remember again, you’ll regret it.”

“That’s not your choice. You can’t decide for me!”

“I can and I will. I’m the leader of this crew.”

“That is such bullshit. That has nothing to do with _us_. With us being together.”

Len stood up, grabbed Barry’s arms, right below the shoulders, fingers digging in. “I said I would protect you, didn’t I?” he spat out.

“I don’t need protection from you.”

“You have no fucking clue,” Len sneered. 

Barry paused. “Why wouldn’t I have wanted this? Before the explosion?”

Len looked away, let his arms drop from Barry’s. “We didn’t always agree.”

“We still don’t. So what?”

“We fought sometimes,” Len said. “It was messy.”

“I don’t care.”

“Barry, you have to trust me on this.”

“I do trust you. You keep things from me and you never explain why you act how you do, but I trust you. So maybe you should trust me. Because you’ve had lots of really stupid reasons to not be with me, but you haven’t once said you don’t want me.”

Len scowled a little.

Barry stepped closer, face right in Len’s. “Just say it. That you don’t want me. Tell me you’ve never once thought about having me. About pushing me down onto your bed. About--”

“Stop it, kid.”

“About pushing me to my knees. Letting me wrap my lips around you, looking me in the eyes as I get you off. Or bending me over your bed--”

Len turned away, clenched his fists.

“Yeah, you’re not into it at all,” Barry said sarcastically.

Len turned back. “Barry. I know you don’t believe this. But I am doing this for your own good.” He glared, trying to will Barry into submission.

“I don’t need you to take care of me, Len.”

Len stared a long time. Then: “Accept what I’m saying or get the hell out.”

Barry looked crushed for a moment. Then, he sneered, said “Fine,” and sped away before Len could argue him back.

\--

Barry finds an abandoned apartment and lives alone for a week before it gets too lonely and he goes to a park and sits to watch the people.

An hour later, a young woman and man come up to him, introduce themselves as Caitlin and Cisco, his friends. Barry is skeptical, thinks of speeding away, but they say that they know he has amnesia and they can cure him, and apparently they had found him with facial rec with the help of some computer hacker named Felicity, and people called Joe and Iris were so worried about him, and so much other information all at once, that Barry figures they probably wouldn't say all that if they were lying. Besides, Barry decides that the two of them look about as innocent as anyone Barry has ever seen, so follows them to their lab.

Three hours after that, Barry is calling Joe, apologizing for being away for so long, assuring him that he’s okay now. 

That night, he goes to sleep in his own bed, and tries to fall asleep. He thinks about the taste of Len’s lips on his, and he stays awake all night.

\--

He knows all of the Rogues’ safehouses now, all their weapons stashes and secret labs. He trashes or exposes every location, then waits for retaliation.

It never comes.

He stops Lisa from robbing a jewelry store and Mick from torching a warehouse, but he doesn’t see Len anywhere. He doesn’t send Lisa and Mick to prison, but he tells them he wants a meeting.

Len shows up in his bedroom that night, as Barry is trying to sleep, trying not to think. 

“Memory back, and everything’s right in the world, huh kid?”

Barry gets out of bed and goes to the window where Len is sitting. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you do that to me?”

“Eager kid with superspeed and no memory and I’m not supposed to take advantage? I thought you remembered who I am now.” He looked smug, and it only made Barry angrier.

He sped, knocked Len onto the ground, straddled him. “Why the head games?” he said, voice cracking.

Len paused a long time. “Wasn’t the plan, okay?”

“You didn’t plan…. You ... you weren’t faking it. That you wanted me.”

Len smiled wanly. “Yeah, you’re a cute kid, I wouldn’t kick you out of bed.”

“You practically did kick me out of bed.”

Len turned serious. “You know why I did that.”

Barry really, really wanted to punch him. Somehow, he leaned down and crashed his mouth into Len’s, pressing into it, tongue aggressive. 

Len kissed back, hard, tried to sit up, but Barry’s speed kept him down.

Finally, they parted, both of them panting.

“You know if we do this, we’re still enemies, kid? You know that, right?” Len said, looking up at him with half a grin.

Barry let out a breath. “Yeah, don’t worry, there’s nothing we can do here that will stop me from hating you. Now shut the hell up,” he said, kissing him again, frantic, full of anger and lust and need.

Len rolled to his side so he could pull Barry closer, so he could grip Barry’s hips, fingers leaving bruises, and this time, Barry let him.


End file.
